The Contest of Fate
by juicycow
Summary: James and Lily get to know each other by entering a mysterious contest,happening on account of it being the hottest September in years.Though the contest should be controlled by teachers, something goes wrong.(I just started,its my 1st story) Please read
1. Chapter 1: A Contest !

Chapter 1: A Contest ?!  
  
Summary: In this chapter, Lily and James (two-fourth years that do not know of each others existance) are introduced, and circumstances are explained. A mysterious contest may take place.  
  
It was increddibly stuffy in the little classroom. This was no ordinary classroom; paintings of funny people in bright cloaks and pointed hats covered the walls ( one could swear the people in the paintings were moving ! ), and a collection of small animals in cages were stacked in one corner. Furthermore, the most unusual objects lurked about, such as famous Viking's kidney stones, and the students were bent over frightened rodents with wands. "Order, order, I will not tolerate this noise !", boomed the angry voice of Proffessor McGonagall. This was quite immpossible to do, as the heat was unbearable. This August, the temperature was higher than most people could remember. It was the last period of the day, and the students (aswell as the teachers) suffered miserably. Sweat tickled down the necks of many, so that their black robes clung to them unbearably. This made the room fill with an unpleasant odor. Proffessor McGonagall gave up. The mice would not become armadillos today. More for her own sake than for that of the class, she yelled " Class dissmissed. " The students stampeded out. " That half hour must must have been unbearable for old McGonagall-she's older than time ! ", laughed a plump brown-haired boy. Remus, though sweating to death, always had time for a joke, particularily when it made fun of a teacher. His friend, James, chuckled. He was tall, skinny, and was still clumsy on his feet, since his latest growth-spurt. He had thin black hair, just slightly static, and soft, very kind blue eyes. " Hey, you know what I heared, Remus ?", said James, " They might give us a whole two weeks off, till everything cools off." Hope flickered in Remus' eyes, but then a quizzical expression crossed his face. " What would they do with us students ?" Remus knew the school couldn't just let students run wild, or send them home. James sighed. " Probably, they'd give us some stupid project, like an interact-with-your enviroment thing." "Lily, wait..," panted the tired voice of Bernice Grompt. A pair of emerald green eyes met Bernice's grey-blue ones. Lily, her long red hair flowing loose of her pony tail, smiled. Though Bernice was a skinny thing, she was not athletic. The sight of her running was very much like an Ostrich at full speed. Completely impossible. " School...(wheeze)..Dumbledore..out....weeek..(pant)..ble."Bernice could say no more. " Berni, calm down," said Lily. Bernice laughed her sudden, melodic laugh." I must be quite a sight!".Bernice's laugh was certainly catchy. After both girls calmed down (it was unbearable to have a fit of giggles when it just made you sweat some more), Bernice started again. " We have two weeks off! Dumbledoor said since teachers and students do not deserve hours of working in this heat, we'll do something else. He said something will be arranged, as it wouln't make sense to let us go home for two weeks, when we are supposed to learn stuff. Jake told me there would be some kind of ...CONTEST. Don't know exactly what." Bernice collapsed into a chair. Lily's eyes were bright. She loved competition. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 : Dumbledore Explains  
  
SUMMARY: Dumbledore tells the students about the Contest. Lily and James are interested, and there is more at stake than it seems.  
  
The Great Hall was filled with noise Students squirmed and wiggled in their seats, because of the discomfort of their robes in the heat. Four hundred voices were mumbling indestinguishably. In the dim light that flickered across the ceiling, a looming figure visibly entered. " Quiet, Quiet, I have important news for all of you," bommed the voice belonging to Albus Dumbledore. Before he got any further, Samuel Figgin's, a Hufflepuff, little first-year voice squealed with delight, " News..what kind of news..maybe they will make me captain of the Quittich team, or I'll be head boy, or I'll be promoted to the fifth-year class, or maybe I'll be master- SILENCE!!! Dumbledore's superior voice made Samuel " Erp " with fright. " Before we were interrupted by a certain, a little too ambitious, first-year, I was getting to my point " Samuel turned red and smartly hid his small blond head behind a book entitled ' The History of Humpkin La Dormas, Before and After Ruling the Earth (obriged) '. Dumbledore continued. " As you all know, chances are we will melt in this heat. Apparently, it is supposed to be cold in England. Though the circumstances are strange, I guess one could always put Global Warming at fault. Now, kindly enough, our new Herbology teacher, Proffessor Spindowich, has arranged something with the rest of the staff. We will be having a little competition. Any questions so far ? Samuel Figgin's hand shot up. " What if we don't wanna take part in this ..contest ? " " Well, we always have something ready especially for you...hmm...we could always give you some work to do. After all, it is important to keep up with our studies. Does an essay on the biography of Humpkin La Dormas suit you ? " Samuel went white. After this, he said not another word. " As I was saying," said Dumbledore, a his lips curling in a slight smile, " you have these two options. But first, let us disscuss the Contest. This is still an idea being developed. So far we know that it will be based on three skills: cleverness of spells in fearsome situations, teamwork and fairness, and your ability NOT TO PANICK. Of course, this is just a little adventure, and you will not be in real danger. We teachers will see to that. As this is also taking place to beat the heat, water will be envolved." The corners of Dumbledores mouth inevidably twitched. " You do not have to wear formal robes. In this case, t-shirts would be apropriate. Ahh..here's the catch: all members of each house will compete against each other, and two people from each house will be chosen to represent it. Then, all houses will compete against each other. The winning teams will earn TWO HUNDRED points for their houses. " Dumbledore seemed weary. With a loud yawn he said " I believe we've had enough for today. I, for one, need my beauty-sleep. " With that, the students were herded out of the Great Hall. Though everyone was full of questions, they were too tired to stay up. It was late at night. The whole school was probably sleeping. The only sound, barely oudible, was two murmuring voices. Up in Griffindor tower, a red-head and a raven haired girl were talking. Bernice and Lily, eyelids drooping, were trying hard to stay awake and to disscuss the situation. They fell asleep, each secretly hoping for a chance to win. 


End file.
